Patterns of motivation and ongoing exercise activity in cardiac rehabilitation settings: A 24-month exploration from the TEACH study

Abstract

Background: Few studies have explored exercise and motivational patterns of cardiac rehabilitation patients in the long term. Purpose: We explored differential patterns of exercise and motivation in cardiac rehabilitation patients over a 24-month period and examined the relationship between these emerging patterns. Methods: Participants (n=251) completed an exercise, barrier self-efficacy, outcome expectations and self-determined motivation questionnaire. Latent class growth modelling was used to classify patients in different exercise and motivational patterns. Results: Three exercise patterns emerged: inactive, non-maintainers and maintainers (16%, 67% and 17% of sample per pattern, respectively). Multiple trajectories were found for barrier self-efficacy, outcome expectations and self-determined motivation (3, 5, and 4, respectively). Patients in high barrier self-efficacy, outcome expectation and self-determined groups had greater probability of being in the maintainer exercise group. Conclusions: Identifying a patient's exercise and motivational profile could help cardiac rehabilitation programmes tailor their intervention to optimize the potential for continued exercise activity. © 2011 The Society of Behavioral Medicine.